Clara Reeve
Clara Reeve (1729-1807) was an English poet and novelist.Olara Reeve (1729-1807), English Poetry, 1579-1830. Web, Dec. 21, 2019. Life Reeve was born at Ipswich, the eldest daughter of William Reeve, rector of Freston and of Kerton, Suffolk, and perpetual curate of St. Nicholas, Ipswich. Reeve tells us that her father was an old-fashioned whig, and that she learned from him all she knew. He made her read at a very early age the parliamentary debates, Rapin's History of England, Cato's Letters, Greek and Roman history, and Plutarch. After his death on 13 September 1755, hia widow, with Clara and two other daughters, went to live at Colchester, where Clara initially attempted authorship with a translation from the Latin of Barclay's romance of Argenis, published in 1772 under the title of The Phœnix.Lee, 404. In 1777 she produced her most famous work, The Champion of Virtue: A Gothic story, the copyright of which she sold to Dilly for £10. A second edition appeared in 1778; it and all subsequent editions bore the title The Old English Baron. Miss Reeve was the intimate of novelist Samuel Richardson's daughter, Mrs. Brigden, who corrected and revised the work. The second edition was dedicated to Mrs. Brigden. Reeve supported herself by her writing, despite her family's disapproval. In all she published 24 volumes over 33 years. She led a quiet and retired life, and died at Ipswich at the age of 78. She was buried in the churchyard of St. Stephen's in that town. Writing ''The Old English Baron'' Miss Reeve's fame as a novelist rests entirely on ‘''The Old English Baron''.’ It was very popular at the time of its publication, and between 1778 and 1886 it was reprinted 13 times. It was, as the author herself avows, "the literary offspring of Walpole's Castle of Otranto," a romance that introduced the supernatural into a tale dealing with ordinary life. The Old English Baron, while exemplifying the influence of Walpole's so-called Gothic revival, doubtless suggested in its turn to Mrs. Radcliffe the style of romance which is associated with her name. Walpole denounced the book as insipid and tedious, describing it as Otranto "reduced to reason and probability." "It is so probable,’ he added, "that any trial for murder at the Old Bailey would make a more interesting story ... this is a caput mortuum." Hazlitt characterised Otranto and The Old English Baron alike as "dismal treatises." Repeated perusals of it, however, gave Anna Seward "unsated pleasure". Walter Scott, in his "Memoir" for Ballantyne's Novelists' Library (1823), denied Clara Reeve a rich or powerful imagination, and found her dialogue "sometimes tame and tedious, not to say mean and tiresome," though he deemed it in the main sensible, easy, and agreeable.Lee, 405. Other writing Miss Reeve's other writings are of little importance. The Progress of Romance, published in 1785, gives an account of the sort of fiction read at that time. Miss Seward criticised it somewhat severely. The Exiles; or, Memoirs of Count de Cronstadt, which was published in 1788, in 3 volumes, and in 1789 in 2, was largely borrowed from a novel by M. D'Arnaud; it has a satirical dedication to Peter-Pertinax Puff, esq., in which Miss Reeve mentions a dramatic piece sent to a manager who took no notice of it. A preface follows, where reference is made to a ghost story, Castle Connor: An Irish story, sent to London from Ipswich in May 1787, but lost in the transit. Other works by Miss Reeve are: 'Poems,’ 1769. ‘The Two Mentors: a Modern Story,’ 2 vols. 1783. ‘The School for Widows: a novel,’ 3 vols. 1791. ‘Plans of Education, with Remarks on the Systems of other Writers,’ 1792. ‘The Memoirs of Sir Roger de Clarendon, a natural son of Edward the Black Prince; with Anecdotes of many other eminent persons of the 14th century,’ 3 vols. 1793. Some of these were translated into French. The British Museum ‘Catalogue’ mentions ‘Fatherless Fanny,’ 1819; ‘Kathleen, or the Secret Marriage,’ 1842; and ‘The Harvest Home,’ as by Miss Reeve, but that she was their author is open to doubt. In Fatherless Fannie the last paragraph of the preface is word for word that of The Old English Baron. Davy also attributes to her Destination, or Memoirs of a Private Family, 1799, 12mo (Athenæ Suffolcenses). Recognition The Haunted Tower, a play based on The Old English Baron, was produced at Drury Lane Theatre in 1789.Clara Reeve, Ipswich Womens Festival Group. Web, Dec. 21, 2019. A portrait of Reeve, drawn by A.H. Tourrier, and etched by Dammam, appears in the 1883 edition of The Old English Baron. Another portrait appears in La Belle Assemblée (1824, pt. ii.). The memoir in the edition of 1883 is an unacknowledged transcript of Scott's with a few paragraphs omitted. Publications Poetry *''Original Poems on Several Occasions''. London: T. & J.W. Pasham, for W. Harris, 1769. Novels *''The Champion of Virtue: A gothic story''. Colchester, UK: W. Kfymer / G. Robinson, London, 1777 **also published as The Old English Baron: A gothic story. London: Edward & Charles Dilly, 1778; Dublin: John Exshaw, 1778 **(edited by James Trainor). Oxford, UK, & New York: Oxford University Press, 1967. *''The Two Mentors: A modern story'' (2 volumes), London: Charles Dilly, 1783. *''The exiles: or memoirs of the Count de Cronstadt''. (2 volumes), London: T. Hookham, 1788; Dublin: P. Byrne / P. Wogan / C. Lewis / et al, 1788. *''The School for Widows: A novel''. (3 volumes), T. Hookham / Harrison / W. Miller, 1791 Volume I, Volume III **(edited by Jeannine M. Caster). Newark, NJ: University of Delaware Press / London, & Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 2003. *''Memoirs of Sir Roger de Clarendon''. (3 volumes), London: T. Hookham / J. Carpenter, 1793. Volume I, Volume II, Volume III *''Destination; or, Memoirs of a private family''. (3 volumes), London: T.N. Longman & O. Rees, 1799. *''Fatherless Fanny: A modern story. (4 volumes), London: J. Dean, for James Taylor, 1811. ''Volume I, Volume II, Volume III, Volume IV *''The Harvest Home: A domestic romance. London: Lloyd, 1852. Non-fiction *''The Progress of Romance: Through times, countries and manners. (2 volumes), Colchester, UK: W. Kfymer / G. Robinson, London, 1785; New York: Garland, 1970. *''Plans for Education; with remarks on the systems of other writers''. London: T. Hookham / J. Carpenter, 1792. Translated *John Barclay, The Phoenix (Barclay's Argenis). (4 volumes), London: John Bell, 1772. Except where noted, bibliographical information courtesy WorldCat.Search results = au:Clara Reeve, WorldCat, OCLC Online Computer Library Center Inc. Web, Oct. 4, 2016. See also *List of British poets References * . Wikisource, Web, Oct. 4, 2016. Notes External links ;Books *Clara Reeve at the Online Books Page ;About *Clara Reeve at Ipswich Women in History *Clara Reeve (1729-1807) at English Poetry, 1579-1830 Reeve, Clara Category:1729 births Category:1807 deaths Category:People from Ipswich Category:English women novelists Category:18th-century English writers Category:18th-century women writers Category:18th-century British novelists Category:19th-century women Category:18th-century poets Category:English-language poets Category:English novelists Category:English poets Category:Poets Category:Women poets